Cynthia Nixon unveils candidacy for Governor of New York

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Former Sex And The City star Cynthia Nixon has unveiled her candidacy for governor in her home state of New York.

Nixon’s bid could create a significant primary challenge for the Empire State’s incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, a Democrat, is believed to have his eye on running for the White House in 2020.

Nixon has indicated that her decision to run was spurred by Donald Trump’s election as president.“This is a time to be visible,” Nixon said in the YouTube video distributed Monday that confirmed her campaign, the subject of rumours for weeks. “This is a time to fight.”

Nixon talks up her New York City bona fides, noting that she has never lived anywhere else but the city. She grew up with a single mother “in a one-bedroom fifth floor walk-up,” she says in a video.

She declares herself to be “a proud public school graduate and a proud public school parent.”

She laments that New York has become “the most unequal state in the country with both incredible wealth and extreme poverty.”

The actress emphasises her history as an activist for LGBT equality and other social issues. But she will undoubtedly face scrutiny for her lack of experience in politics and public service posts.

Nixon played career-focused lawyer Miranda Hobbes on HBO’s Sex And The City from 1998-2004. She won an Emmy for her work on the show in 2004, as well as a 2008 Emmy for her work as a guest actress on NBC’s Law & Order: SVU.

Nixon also appeared in the two Sex And The City films released in 2008 and 2010, respectively.

Nixon also has a long list of theatre credits, including a run last year in the revival of The Little Foxes, for which she earned a Tony Award as featured actress in a play. She won a Tony for lead actress in a play for her work in 2006’s Rabbit Hole. – Reuters/Cynthia Littleton